Mrs Sutherland's English Classroom
Reading for understandingQuick questionsWhat does the term ‘close reading’ mean? Use your own words as far as possible.Why should you develop close reading skills?What is meant by the term ‘reading for understanding’?a) Make a list of ten texts – novels, short stories, poems – that you have enjoyed reading recentlyb) Now make a list of anything that you read at least once a week – anything from the side of cornflake packets, bus timetables, supermarket adverts, instructions, television adverts to magazines etc. Top Tips: Reading different types of text will help build your vocabulary as well as your reading skillsExplain in your own words and as clearly as you can the difference between fact and opinionList all the Scots words that you know for rain (include rainy conditions)Makes you thinkWhich of the following sentences are facts and which are opinions? In some cases you might need to use the internet to check your answers.Inverness is a cityDundee has the same size population as AberdeenGlaswegians have more style than people in other cities in ScotlandIndian food is spicier than Chinese foodBroccoli is a superfood and is very good for youBen Nevis is the highest mountain in BritainMobile phones have made communication between people much more effectiveDogs are clever than most people realiseQuick tasksRead the following passage carefully and then answer the questions which follow. It is taken from James Kirkup's book The Only Child.If I ran all the way, I could be home in two minutes, and I would arrive at the back door panting and happy. My mother always had dinner ready for me, and it was a sad dinnertime for me when there was no rice pudding, my favourite dish. On cold, winter days we would have our dinner on trays by the fireside, while the wind roared outside and rain lashed the window-panes and the sea boomed beyond the house-yops. They were happy, cosy, intimate meals. It was a great treat to have dinner or tea by the blazing fire, with our feet up on the sparkling brass fender of the white-washed hearth. But it made going back to school even harder. If there was dense fog outside, I would sit by the fire in my slippers until the last possible minute, listening to the glum blasts of the foghorn and the wailing sirens of fogbound ships outside the harbour. Then, with a high-pitched urgency, the school bel/ would begin to ring, and I would scramble into my coat and cap and outdoor shoes, cover my mouth and nose with my muffler, and dash out into the dead, damp fog.Questions (a) Nowadays dinner-time can be either midday or in the evening. Is dinner-time in this passage at midday or in the evening? Give a reason for your answer. (b) Give two reasons why the author wants to run all the way home.(c) The author says that the meals were 'happy, cosy, intimate'. How does he make us feel the cosiness?(d) Was the author happy or not to go back to school? Give a reason for your answer.(e) Read the passage again carefully. What can you tell about the kind of town the boy lives in? Pick out three words to support your answer.Practice close readingFake news1. To understand how fake news has entered our society, it is important to think about where information comes from. In the past, our information came from a few sources, such as books or newspapers. Today, there are millions of websites claiming to have the answer to almost any question. But how much of this information, on and offline, can be trusted?Facts2. Facts are pieces of information that are proven to be true based on evidence. Generally, we need evidence from several sources to confirm that something is true. For example, we know that Queen Victoria was shorter than average height because we have photos and historical documents that confirm this. Facts are objective. This means that they are not based on feelings or opinions. Even if Queen Victoria believed she was tall, this would not change the fact that she was shorter than average. Beliefs3. Beliefs are opinions that we hold. For example, some people believe that eating animals is wrong, while others do not see meat as a problem. Our family, our religion, our culture, our environment and our society influence our beliefs. Some beliefs can be supported by facts and evidence. A meat-eater might state that humans need protein as part of a balanced diet, and meat contains protein. A vegetarian might focus on the fact that some scientists have shown that animals can feel pain.Beliefs and facts4. Our beliefs may lead us to only focus on certain facts. It could be hard for a meat-eater to accept that animals feel pain. A vegetarian might not want to accept that meat can be part of a balanced diet. However, we must try to be open-minded about all facts, even if they go against what we believe.QuestionsRead paragraph 11 Using your own words, explain how the way we get information has changed over the years.2 How does the writer use word choice to suggest how many websites there are?3 Why does the writer use a question mark at the end of the paragraph?Read paragraph 2.4 Using your own words as far as possible, explain what kind of evidence we need in order to prove that something is true.5 Write down an expression that tells us about Queen Victoria's height.6 Explain in your own words what the writer means when they say 'Facts are objective'. Look at the sentence that follows this to help you.7 Decide if each statement is true, false, or if you don't have enough information to know.StatementTrueFalseCan’t tellBeliefs are always trueSome people think it’s wrong to eat animalsBeliefs can always be supported by factsAnimals do not feel painMeat contains protein8 What is the effect of the list the writer uses in this paragraph?Read paragraph 4.9 Which two examples in this paragraph illustrate that people can find it hard to accept facts that don’t fit their beliefs?10 Which expression encourages the reader to give things a chance before they make up their mind?Send you answers to Joanna.Sutherland@.uk or upload them to teams or SMHWInterdisciplinary ProjectHere are the opening paragraphs of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It may seem a bit difficult to read at first simply because it was written over a hundred years ago, but it worth persevering with the passage. The questions should help you understand most of it. The paragraphs below are narrated by Jonathan Harker as part of his diary (journal). First of all read it carefully. Jonathan Harker's Journal(Kept in the shorthand)3 May. Bistritz. - Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets. I feared to go very far from the station, as we had arrived late and would start as near the correct time as possible. The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the most Western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish rule.We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh. Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (mem., get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called 'paprika hendl,' and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians. I found my smattering of German very Useful here; indeed, I don't know how I should be able to get on without it.Having some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a noble of that country. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe. I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps of this country as yet to compare with own ordnance survey maps; but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. I shall enter here some of my notes, as they may refresh my memory When I talk over my travels with Mina.QuestionsYour Geography teacher may be able to help you answer the following questions.Castle Dracula is in Transylvania, 'in the midst of the Carpathian mountains'. Using an Atlas or an internet search engine, find out all you can about the Carpathians and where they are located. Next, try finding out all you can about Transylvania. Where is Transylvania? In the first paragraph. Jonathan Harker mentions the Danube: he talks about 'the most western of bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth' What is the Danube?He also refers to 'Buda-Pesth'. Which modern city is he referring to and which river through it?He says that 'there are no maps of this country' (Transylvania) 'as yet to compare wen out own Ordnance Survey maps'. What is an Ordnance Survey map and why were they frst produced? It would help to find out what is meant by the term ‘ordnance'For these questions, you may like to ask your Home Economics teacher for help: What is paprika? Where does paprika come from?If ‘hendl’ is the Austro-Bavarian word for chicken, what dish do you think Harker ate in Hungary on his way to Transylvania?Find out another recipe that uses paprikaNow use the reading skills that you have gained in your English classWhat evidence is there that this passage uses first-person narration?It is headed ‘Jonathan Harker’s journal’, what is a journal?He mentions Mina. Is there anything in the text which makes you think that Mina is someone important to him?What do you think will happen next in this story?Send you answers to Joanna.Sutherland@.uk or upload them to teams or SMHWMy Learning ChecklistI can identify at least three different texts that I read in my daily life for information I can tell the difference between fact and opinion I am able to recognise persuasion I have successfully answered questions on a text that I have read closelyI can make inferences from textsI have compared at least two pieces of text to find similarities and differences between themClose reading skills will help me in everyday life by………………………... …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Reading for understanding is important because………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19240500I can better understand written instructions which helps me to do things more successfully e.g. how to use my new camera00I can better understand written instructions which helps me to do things more successfully e.g. how to use my new cameraleft61772805.005.186055070275454.004.407225562731653.003.-3238512757156.006.38487359779002.002. ................
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